One way animal gate

ABSTRACT

A one way animal gate and barrier fence are described. The one way animal gate includes a smooth, inclined bottom surface surrounded by two sides extending upwardly from the smooth bottom surface. The gate, is placed in an opening in the barrier fence so an animal proceeding along the fence will encounter the gate, step onto the bottom, and be involuntarily slid to the opposite side of the barrier fence. Once slid, it will be unable to return to the original side of the fence due to an inability to gain traction up the smooth bottom surface.

This is a division of application Ser. No. 07/321,695 filed Nov. 10,1989 now U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,323.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to apparatus for animal management. Moreparticular, this invention relates to a one way animal gate forrelocating animals from one area to another.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Those involved in the management of animals have long used manual animalgates to corral and contain domestic animals. The manual animal gateshave openable portions in a fence line and require human effort andattention to both open the gate to permit the animals to pass throughthe fence and to prod the animals through the opening. Once the animalshave moved through the opening, the openable gate must be manuallyclosed to prevent the animals from returning to the original area. Thecorralling operation requires considerable human effort.

While the manual animal gate system may be used with domesticatedanimals such as cattle, horses and pigs, which may be easily trained orencouraged to move through the openable gates, the manual animal gatesystem is not so effective in corralling or relocating feral animals.Corralling or relocating feral animals is more difficult due to theproblems of locating the feral animals in a particular area and enticingthe feral animals through the gate in the fence line. Significant humanintervention is required during the corralling or relocating operationof feral animals since constant attention must be directed to the gatingsystem to prevent the feral animals from returning to the undesired areaonce they have passed through the gate. This presents a problem,however, since the presence of a human in the vicinity of the gate toinsure that the animals do not return to the original area once theyhave passed through the gate generally inhibits the enticement of theferal animals through the gate. Thus, a particular dichotomy occurs inthat human intervention in the corralling of feral animals is bothnecessary and defeating.

An animal gating apparatus is thus needed which will relocate animalsfrom one area to another with negligible human intervention.

Doyle, U.S. Pat. No. 1,235,125, discloses, in pertinent part, a cattleloading device in which cattle are prodded or otherwise encouraged up acleated gangway 35 having an upwardly directed incline. A truck 3 isparked in the vicinity of the inclined end of the gangway 35, with theinclined end higher than the floor 2 of the truck 3. A sheet metal chute17 is then extended from the inclined edge of the cleated gangway 35 tothe floor 2 of the truck 3. As cattle are encouraged up the gangway 35,they reach the inclined edge of the gangway and are motivated to proceedforward until their hooves contact the sheet metal chute 17 where theyare involuntarily slid into the truck 3. The chute 17 thus provides alow friction surface to keep cattle moving forward, toward the loadingtruck, rather than stalling on the gangway 35. The chute 17 alsoincludes short, sheet metal sides 20, presumably to guide the cattledown the center of the chute without slipping over either edge. TheDoyle apparatus is designed to encourage a continuous processional ofcattle into the loading truck by involuntarily sliding the cattle fromthe gangway into the truck.

While Doyle thus discloses a low friction one-way passage for animals,Doyle does not disclose that the one-way gate may be used in combinationwith a barrier fence to coral or relocate domestic or feral animals withminimal human intervention and effort. Further, Doyle does not disclosethat the one-way animal gate may have trapezoidal sides toadvantageously prevent the animals from jumping over the sides, backthrough the gate. Accordingly, a one-way gate is needed which enticesanimals from one side of a barrier fence to another, provides an openingthrough the barrier fence for the animal to pass, and prevents theanimals from returning to the original side.

In addition, a one-way animal chute is needed which discriminatesbetween the types of animals corralled and yet still requires minimalhuman intervention or effort. When various types of feral or domesticanimals are mingled in a particular area, manual segregation of theanimal types is tedious and time-consuming. The difficulty associatedwith segregating the comingled groups is so prohibitive that itgenerally occurs only in the most essential circumstances. Accordingly,an animal gate is needed which selectively entices and passes animals ofa particular type in a co-mingled group through a barrier fence andprevents their return, yet requires minimal human effort or attention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to overcome the above disadvantages of known relocation andcorralling methods which required excessive time and labor, the presentinvention provides a one-way animal gate in combination with a barrierfence through which animals are enticed to pass and are prevented fromreturning, with minimal or no human intervention.

The invention provides a one-way animal gate consisting of a smoothbottom surface and trapezoidal sides. The bottom edges of thetrapezoidal sides are joined to two edges of the smooth bottom surfaceto create a U-shaped chute. The sides are shaped so the two edgesadjacent the bottom edges are vertical and are laced to two respectivebarrier fenceposts to create an opening in the barrier fence. The bottomsurface of the chute is angled downwardly, preferably at a ratio of twounits outward to one unit downward, and may be a hard, smooth surface, alubricated surface, or a mechanically moving surface.

An animal which encounters the barrier fence will move along the edge ofthe fence until discovering the chute opening. Through natural instinct,lure or other enticement, the animal will cross the barrier fencethrough the chute apparatus by stepping on the bottom surface, slidingdown the ramp and exiting at the bottom of the chute. Having slid out ofthe chute, the animal is unable to return to the original side of thefence due to the animal's inability to get traction up the low friction,inclined bottom surface of the chute.

The trapezoidal sides of the chute are advantageously shaped for theobjective of corralling animals. The sides provide support for the chuteand are tall enough at one end to create a barrier against the animalsjumping back through the chute to the original side of the fence, oncethrough. The sides are also low enough at the other end to provide morevisibility of the area surrounding the bottom of the chute than similarsides having a rectangular shape. The increased visibility has theaffect of further encouraging animals approaching the fence to passthrough the opening to the opposite side of the fence.

Further, the sides may be designed to create an interior chute spacewhich only allows animals less than a predetermined size to passthrough. This allows the operator to selectively segregate smalleranimals from groups of larger animals.

The one way animal gate may be used on, for example, ranches, to corral,relocate or segregate domestic animals or may be used on, for example,wooded lots, to remove undesirable feral animals from the area.

In accordance with these and other objects which will become apparent,the present invention will be described with particular reference to theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the one-way animal gate and barrierfence according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the one-way animal gate and barrier fence ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded sectional view of the connection between theone-way animal gate and the barrier fence, according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the one-way animal gate according to athird embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a cutaway side view of the one way animal gate according to afourth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a one-way animal gate 2 according to apreferred embodiment of the present invention. The animal gate includestwo sides 4 mounted perpendicularly on a bottom 6 to create a U-shapedchannel. The gate 2 is then connected through an opening 9 in thebarrier fence defined by two of the plurality of barrier fenceposts 10supporting the barrier fence 8. The barrier fence 8 includes mesh wire12 extending between the fenceposts in each direction of the barrierfence from the opening 9.

The wires 12 of the barrier fence 8 connect to each fencepost 10 in thebarrier fence line 8 until they reach the barrier fencepost 10 adjacentthe opening 9. At this point, the wires 12 lace the barrier fencepost 10to the side 4 of the gate 2 through a plurality of lacing holes 14created in the sides of the gate 2. Each of the sides 4 of the gate 2are thus laced to the barrier fencepost 10 defining the opening 9 in thebarrier fence 8.

A single strip of molding 16 is attached to the side 4 to align the gate2 with the fenceposts 10 on each side of the gate 2. The gate 2 isplaced in the opening 9 of the barrier fence 8 with one end resting onan upper ground level 18 and another end resting on a lower ground level20. The molding 16 may rest against the fencepost 10 on the upper groundlevel side to prevent the gate 2 from sliding from the upper groundlevel 18 to the lower ground level 20.

Each side 4 of the gate 2 includes a front edge 24 and a rear edge 26.The front edge 24 and the rear edge 26 may be parallel to each otherwith the front edge 24 longer than the rear edge 26. Each side 4 alsoincludes a top edge 28 extending from the top of the front edge 24 tothe top of the rear edge 26 and a bottom edge 30 extending from thebottom of the front edge 24 to the bottom of the rear edge 26 along thelower ground level 20.

The bottom 6 includes two side bottom ends 36, with one side bottom endconnected to the bottom edge 30 of one side 4 and the other side bottomend connected to the bottom edge of the other side. The connectionbetween the side bottom end 36 of the bottom 6 and the bottom edge 30 ofthe side 4 preferably creates a 90° angle between the plane of thebottom 6 and the planes of the sides 4. The bottom also includes a frontbottom end 32 and a rear bottom end 34. The gate 2 is situated betweenthe upper ground level 18 and the lower ground level 20 with the frontbottom end 32 resting on the upper ground level 18 near the fenceposts10 defining the opening 9 in the barrier fence 8 and the rear bottom end34 supported by the lower ground level 20.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom 6 slants downward from the upper groundlevel 18 along the lower ground level 20 with the plane of the sides 4extending perpendicular to the plane of the bottom 6. The molding 16 ismounted on the side 4 near the front edge 24 of the side 4. The moldingextends from the top edge 28 to the bottom edge 30 to engage with therespective fencepost 10 and to reinforce the side 4 where the fencewires 12 lace through the lacing holes 14 in the side 4.

A stiffening brace 44 may be provided on the gate 2 near theintersection between the front edge 24 and the top edge 28 of each side4. The stiffening brace 44 provides structure and support for the upperportions of the U-shaped gate 2.

As an animal encounters the barrier fence 8 along some portion of thefence line, the animal will proceed along the barrier fence until itreaches the opening 9 in the barrier fence. Through natural instinct,lure or other enticement, the animal will proceed through the opening 9and will involuntarily slide from the upper ground level 18 to the lowerground level 20 along the bottom 6 of the gate 2. For this, the bottom 6should have a smooth, low-friction surface which will slide the animaldown the gate 2 with the force of gravity and will prevent the animalfrom getting traction in the gate 2 during a return attempt. Thus, oncethe animal is slid from the upper level 18 to the lower level 20 alongthe smooth bottom 6 of the gate 2 it is unable to return back to theupper ground level 18 through the gate 2 due to its inability to gettraction up the bottom surface 6.

FIG. 2 also illustrates that the front edge 24 of the side 4 is longerthan the rear edge 26 of the side 4 thus creating a large side surfacearea near the upper ground level 18 and a small side surface area nearthe lower ground level 20. The sides of the gate 2 are advantageouslyshaped for the objective of enticing animals through the opening 9 inthe barrier fence 8 and for preventing their return from the lowerground level 20 to the upper ground level 18, once through. The frontedge 24 of the gate 2 is high enough to prevent an animal from jumpingfrom the lower ground level 20, over the side 4, and through the opening9 in the barrier fence 8. Preferably, the front edge 24 of the side 4extends as high as the fencepost 10 of barrier fence 8. The rear edge 26of the side 4, however, does not extend as high as the front edge 24 ofthe side 4 so an animal standing at the upper ground level 18, lookingthrough the opening 9 in the barrier fence 8, will have an expanded viewof the lower ground level 20 at the base of the gate 2. By providingincreased visibility at the bottom of the gate 2 on the lower groundlevel 20, the gate 2 is more apt to entice an animal onto the bottomsurface 6 of the gate 2 where it is then involuntarily slid to the lowerground level 20.

As the animal slides down the gate 2 along the bottom 6, the gate 2 isheld in place by the force of the molding 16 against the fencepost 10 oneach side of the gate 2. Thus, the weight of the gate 2 and the weightof the animal sliding along the bottom 6 will not draw the gate 2 downthe lower ground level 20 since the molding 16 on each side 4 securesthe gate against the respective fenceposts 10 adjacent the opening 9.Further, the wires 12 lacing the fenceposts to the sides 4 through thelacing holes 14 may also encircle the molding 16 to firmly secure themolding 16 to the fencepost 10 to prevent the fenceposts 10 fromseparating from the sides 4 and allowing the gate 2 to move down thelower ground level 20. The stiffening brace 44 also provides support forthe gate 2 near the top edges 28 of the sides 4, further helping tomaintain the alignment between the molding 16 and the fenceposts 10.

The bottom 6 of the gate 2 slopes downward from the upper level 18 tothe lower level 20 preferably at a rate of one unit downward to twounits outward. This angle is generally sufficient to slide hoovedanimals down the bottom 6 from the upper ground level 18 to the lowerground level 20 and to prevent their return up the bottom 6.

The sides 4 and the bottom 6 may be manufactured of fiberglass and resinin a fiberglass mold in a manner well known to those of ordinary skillin the art. The surface of the fiberglass bottom 6 may then be polishedto decrease the coefficient of friction between the bottom surface 6 andthe hooves of the animal to ensure that the animal is slid from theupper ground level 18 to the lower ground level 20 and is prevented fromreturning to the upper ground level along the low-friction bottomsurface 6.

Alternatively, the sides 4 and bottom 6 may be manufactured of wood orother suitable material provided the bottom 6 and sides 4 cooperate tomove the animals from the upper level 18 to the lower level 20 andprevent their return. To accomplish this, the bottom surface 6 may be asmooth, polished surface, a lubricated surface, or may be a mechanicallymoving surface.

The fence 8 may be wood, wire or any other suitable fence material andmay or may not have fenceposts. For example, the fence may have a brickconstruction with a concrete foundation, with an opening 9 defined bytwo brick fence ends. The molding 16 of the gate 2 would then align thesides 4 of the gate 2 with the fence ends of the brick fence. Otherfence materials may be appropriately used provided the fence preventsthe movement of animals from one side of the fence to the other exceptas the one-way gate allows.

While the bottom slope is preferably one unit downward for two unitsoutward, the slope may be steeper or more gradual depending on the typeof gate bottom used and the type of animal to be corralled. Also, theangle between the plane of the bottom and the plane of the sides may begreater or less than the preferable 90°.

Using the gate 2 as described in FIGS. 1 and 2, animals will effectivelyrelocate themselves from the upper ground level 18 on one side of thebarrier fence 8 to the lower ground level 20 on the other side of thebarrier fence 8 without any human attention required. Feral or domesticanimals which encounter the opening 9 in the barrier fence 8 are enticedto move through the gate 2 from the upper ground level 18 to the lowerground level 20 and are prevented from returning to the upper groundlevel 18, thus corralling the animals on the lower ground level side 20of the fence 8 with substantially no human intervention.

Referring to FIG. 3, another embodiment for connecting the sides 4 tothe fence 8 is shown. The molding 16 and the side 4 of the gate 2 may beconstructed of wood or other suitable material and fiberglassed into thefiberglass side 4. A support 50 extends from the top of the molding 16and runs to the ground level close to and parallel with the molding 16.The gap between the support 50 and the molding 16 must be sufficientlynarrow so animals on the lower ground level 20 cannot squeeze through toreturn to the upper ground level 18. The support 50 may be of steel orother construction and provides a rigid support to which the wires 12 ofthe fence 8 may be secured. In this embodiment, the wires 12 of thebarrier fence 8 extend between adjacent fenceposts 10 until they reachthe side 4 of the gate 2. At this point, the wires are laced around thesupport 50 or, alternatively, may be threaded through pre-drilled holesin the support 50. In this manner, the barrier fence 8 would continue upto the support 50, thus preventing animals from crossing the barrierfence 8 except as the one-way gate 2 allows.

The fence-gate connection disclosed in FIG. 3, however, lacks thealignment and support provided when the molding 16 can engage with thefencepost 10 as the embodiment of FIG. 2 provides. In FIG. 3, the onlystructure preventing the gate 2 from sliding from the upper ground level18 to the lower ground level 20 due to the force of its own weight orthe force of its weight in combination with the force of an animalsliding down the bottom 6, is the tension exerted by the barrier fencewires 12 on the support 50. While the barrier fence wires 12 and support50 may be designed to withstand the gravitational pull on the gate 2toward the lower ground level 20, FIG. 4 illustrates that anchors 52 maybe provided at the front edges 24 of the sides 4 to prevent the gate 2from moving away from the barrier fence line 8. The gate anchors 52 maybe pressed into the ground at the upper ground level 18 to prevent thegate 2 from sliding from the upper ground level 18 to the lower groundlevel 20. Of course, such anchors can be employed with any embodiment ofthis invention. The gate 2 may be used on level ground by propping thefront bottom end 32 of the bottom 6 higher than the rear bottom end 34of the bottom 6, using the gate anchors 52. The user would build-up amound to the level of the front bottom end 32 so animals would proceedup the mound, into the gate 2, and involuntarily slide to the rearbottom end 34 of the bottom 6 of the gate 2, where they would be unableto return up the smooth bottom surface.

FIG. 4 also illustrates that the sides 4 of the gate 2 may be variousshapes including rectangular, as shown. The sides 4 may also bestrengthened with reinforcing beams 54, which may be wood or otherload-bearing materials fiberglassed into the surface of the side 4.

FIG. 5 illustrates a further embodiment of the present invention. Inthis embodiment, the bottom 6 slopes downwardly in a straight line fromthe front bottom end 32 and then curves downwardly near the rear bottomend 34. In this manner, animals which enter the opening 9 in the fence 8are slid along the bottom 6, first quickly in the straight slope nearthe front bottom end, then decelerating in the curved slope near therear bottom end 34. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, animals which are sliddown the bottom 6 are not abruptly dropped from the bottom 6 to thelower ground level 20, but are gradually released from the bottom 6 tothe lower ground level 20 by the rounded bottom. While the embodiment ofFIG. 2 is preferred when the lower ground level 20 is sloped, theembodiment of FIG. 5 is preferred when the lower ground level 20 issubstantially horizontal.

The gate dimensions of each of the embodiments of the present inventionwill vary depending on the terrain, weather, size and type of targetanimals. Accordingly, the sides 4 of the gate 2 may be expanded orretracted to adjust for the particular size of animal desired. Thus, ifan integrated group of different types of animals is located on theupper ground level 18, a particularly small sized one-way gate 2 andbarrier fence 8 may be designed to segregate a particularly small sizedanimal from the larger animals so the smaller animals will be corralledon the lower ground level 20 and the larger animals will remain on theupper ground level 18. The gates may be used for stocking orconcentrating animals in a specific area, moving animals from one areato another, clearing an area of animals or trapping animals. The size ofthe gate 2 and the texture of the bottom 6 may be designed toaccommodate the particular size and foot type of, for example, pigs,goats, sheep, cattle, deer, or any other animal, hooved or not.

The gate 2 may be provided in the opening 9 of the barrier fence 8, withthe plane of the sides 4 perpendicular to the plane of the fence 8, ormay be provided at any appropriate angle for the particular terraininvolved.

Further, the fence 8 may be connected to the sides 4 by any knownfastening means, rather than the lacing means and support meansdisclosed in FIGS. 1 and 3, respectively.

While the applicant has described the invention in connection with whatthe applicant considers the most practical preferred embodiment, theapplicant does not limit the invention to the disclosed embodiment, but,on the contrary, intends the invention to cover various modification andequivalent arrangements included in the spirit and scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of relocating animals including thesteps of:providing an opening in a barrier fence; sliding animals, whichvoluntarily enter the opening, from a first side of the barrier fence toa second side of the barrier fence; and preventing the animals fromreturning to the first side of the barrier fence from the second side ofthe barrier fence.
 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step ofpreventing includes the step of providing a surface sloping downwardfrom the opening having a coefficient of friction sufficiently low toprevent the animal from getting traction up the surface.
 3. A method ofrelocating animals including the steps of:providing an opening in abarrier fence; sliding animals, which sporadically encounter the openingand which enter the opening on their own volition, from a first side ofthe barrier fence to a second side of the barrier fence; and preventingthe animals from returning to the first side of the barrier fence fromthe second side of the barrier fence.
 4. A method according to claim 3,wherein the step of preventing includes the step of providing a surfacesloping downward from the opening having a coefficient of frictionsufficiently low to prevent the animal from getting traction up thesurface.
 5. A method of relocating animals including the steps of:placing a barrier fence at the crest of a hill; providing an opening inthe barrier fence;sliding animals, which approach the opening, throughthe opening and down the hill; preventing the animals from returning upthe hill.
 6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the step ofpreventing includes the step of providing a sloped surface down the hillhaving a coefficient of friction sufficiently low to prevent the animalfrom getting traction up the surface.